Running on Pixie Dust: Saratoga Springs

After making the trip to Walt Disney World, families are either anxious to hit the parks right away or relax at their resort. When we arrived on our last trip in July, the flight down to Florida with two kids wiped my husband and I out and we were ready to check into our room and spend a quiet evening in at our resort. We also needed a place to grab dinner at our resort, Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. Since we had eaten fast food at the airport earlier in the day, we were pleased to be able to grab walk-in availability at a table service restaurant at the resort, The Turf Club Bar & Grill.

The Turf Club Bar & Grill continues the larger theme of this resort as a rich history of horse racing is celebrated. Just outside of the restaurant is a full service bar and a billiards table as well as TVs and comfortable chairs. When you enter the restaurant you'll be greeted by rich, dark woods and a dimly lit atmosphere. There is both interior and exterior seating depending on your preference.

For dinner, my husband and I both ordered the Turf Club Pasta with Grilled Chicken. The garlic and spices helped to flavor a very light dish as the fettucine, chicken, and vegetables were tossed with olive oil. The menu here wasn't extensive, but the food was tasty. The large portions also meant that we were able to each take some pasta back to our room for lunch later in the week.

With over 300 dining choices on Walt Disney World property, there are many great choices. I think it takes a truly special dining experience to pull guests into a resort restaurant and The Turf Club Bar & Grill doesn't have a standout meal or unique character interaction to make it worth the effort to "resort hop" to get here. However, if I found myself at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa again, I wouldn't hesitate to visit this restaurant for a good dinner and relaxing evening.

I'm fresh off our latest trip to Walt Disney World where we enjoyed the comforts of Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. For each of our seven nights, we called this lovely resort "home" and enjoyed what it had to offer. Saratoga Springs is a Disney Vacation Club property featuring a wide variety of rooms ranging from studios to the Treehouse Villas. The resort is absolutely beautiful and sprawling. The resort is themed after Saratoga, New York and highlights a golden era of horse racing. It's located near Disney Springs (currently transitioning from Downtown Disney) and features a walking path to that area.

"Welcome Home"

The resort has five areas - The Grandstand, The Carousel, Congress Park, The Paddock, and The Springs. We requested a room in The Springs as it is the closest to the main building and pool. Due to the size of the resort, there is an internal bus system. If you want to be first on the Disney Transportation busses, stay at The Grandstand. Even though we were the last bus stop at The Springs, we never had a problem getting a bus when we waited. There are three separate pools throughout the resort. We opted to visit the pool at The Paddock which also included a specially designed children's area with water features and a water play area for children under 48 inches. This pool was also zero entry which was perfect for our 3 year old.

The Paddock Pool

There are also several restaurants on property. The Turf Club Bar and Grill is a table service restaurant featuring traditional American / country club type entrees. There is also Artist's Palatte - a quick service restaurant located next to The Turf Club Bar and Grill in the main building. In addition, you can find limited menus at restaurants and bars near the pools.

One of the beautiful walkways around the resort.

During our vacation, our family of four (including a 3 year old and a 5 month old infant) stayed in a studio villa. Like many other Disney Vacation Club properties, the studio villa features a bed, sleeper sofa, table and two chairs, TV, full bath, closet, and kitchenette. While a studio was tight when we had to add the pack 'n' play for our youngest family member, we were able to make due for the week.

The view from our standard view studio villa.

Saratoga Springs was a beautiful resort, but featured little "Disney" theming. If you're family is looking to be surrounded by Mickey and immersed in Disney movies, you won't find it here. Considering all of the resorts we've stayed at previously in Walt Disney World, Saratoga Springs would not be my first choice simply because it is not convenient to any of the parks - a perk that is important to us with young children. However, I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. From a Disney Vacation Club standpoint, Saratoga Springs offers a lot of rooms at a relatively "cheap" point value and is probably the least popular. This means that you can often find rooms available here at the last minute - a rare find for Disney Vacation Club studio villas.

Have you visited Saratoga Springs on a Walt Disney World vacation? I'd love to hear your experiences too!